Day 1 – San Antonio to Santa Fe
I spent the bulk of my day Thursday in my car, driving to Santa Fe, NM. I’d like to say the drive was uneventful, but that wasn’t the case. Much of the Southwestern US is in a major drought, creating conditions that are ripe for wildfires. Just outside of Carlsbad, NM, I noticed a large cloud of smoke up ahead. As I approached, I noticed that the grass in the median and on the right should was on fire. And the high winds were whipping flames all around. A fire truck had just arrived, so this must have been a recent happening. Within seconds, the road ahead of me was no longer visible, now covered in thick smoke. I slowed down and hoped for the best as I drove through the smoke. As I passed through, flames leaped at my windows, and I could literally feel the heat from the inferno. I was lucky to get through when I did, as much for safety as for the delay I’m sure it caused many cars behind me.
As if that wasn’t enough, when I stopped for gas, I found that my latch wouldn’t open. I pulled the lever multiple times, but nothing happened. I began to use my keys to see if I could pry open the gas “door”, but no luck. Finally, after at least 5 minutes of trying this, it opened. No big deal, just a freak occurrence…so I thought. I’ve bought gas 3 times on the trip so far, and each time I have had to pull the lever, pry the door, pull the lever, and so on….It’s getting to be a nuisance.
I arrived in Santa Fe just as the sun was setting, and the view was spectacular. To make things even better, I had to put on jeans for dinner since the air was a bit cool, a nice change of pace from the 100 degree days we have had in South Texas recently. I went to my “usual” spot, the Blue Corn Café, where I watched Game 5 of the NBA Finals, chatted with a guy from Dallas (huge Widespread Panic fan), ate an artery-clogging tortilla burger (burger wrapped in a tortilla and covered in cheese and green chiles, and had a pint of my favorite beer there, the “End of the Trail Brown Ale”. Needless to say, I slept well that night.
Trip Totals (Through Day 1)
Driving Mileage – 725
Running Mileage and Vertical Change – 0 (since Chris Russell wants to know)
Day 2 – Santa Fe and Big Willie’s
I awoke to the early sunrise (it was light by 5:30AM) and debated on which run I wanted to do. I opted for my standard Santa Fe adventure, the Atalaya Mountain Tail, a 6+ mile roundtrip to the top of Atalaya Mountain. This run boasts close to 2,000’ of elevation change each way, and I planned on doing 2 repeats, netting me close to 8.,000’ of vertical in my first day. I have done this trail several times and know what to expect. I mentally break it up into 3 sections, each close to a mile long. The first section is rolling and provides a nice warmup for the second section, which is a mile-long steep climb, finally giving way to a series of moderately steep switchbacks that lead to the summit. The view from the top is amazing, giving you a sweeping view of Santa Fe below and mountains on all sides. After snapping a few pictures, I dropped a water bottle (left it so I wasn’t tempted to not climb back to the top again) and headed down to my car. Upon reaching my car, I changed out water bottles and headed back up. I could definitely feel the thinner air (the trail starts at 7,300’ and climbs to over 9,100’) as I made my second ascent, but I knew this was a great way to ease my body into the altitude I would encounter in Colorado. Once at the top, I grabbed my water bottle, chatted with a local (I love meeting new people on these adventures), and headed back down, wanting to make it back to my hotel in time for a quick shower before I had to check out. All in all, this was a great run. My quads were spent, but I was happy with the morning, Oh, and it was in the 50s all morning. Can’t beat that.
After showering at my hotel, I headed back down to the Santa Fe Plaza area, grabbed a pizza at a rooftop restaurant, explored the area (had to find the local outdoor store), grabbed a coffee, and went to Blue Corn again to get my growlers filled with some local brew, I then headed north towards Colorado Springs, where I would be staying with Big Willie, a friend I had met several years earlier while crewing and pacing for another friend at the Leadville 100 mile run. Willie lives about 15 miles west of Colorado Springs, up the valley at over 8,000’. When I pulled up to his house, I was stunned. The views were absolutely breathtaking. If I had to move to Colorado, this place would be on my short list of towns to relocate to. Pikes Peak is just over the ridge, you have mountains on all sides, and he literally has running trails outside his backdoor. Simply amazing. After catching up with Willie and Chris (another friend I met through my Leadville adventures), I retired to an comfy air mattress for a few hours of sleep before we awoke for another run in the mountains.
Trip Totals (Through Day 2)
Driving Mileage – 1050
Running Mileage and Vertical Change (est.) – 12.5 miles/7500’
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